Welcome to the Friday Feedback, popping bottles of Andre and lighting bottle rockets to celebrate not the news of WVU’s Tier 3 deal, but the presumed end of the conflict that had ensnared so many and so much time. Truly, it’s a … oh, for crying out loud.

Though Raese had said West Virginia Radio would not participate in the new bidding process, the company filed a lawsuit in Monongalia Circuit Court last month

The 206-page lawsuit asked the court to bar IMG or West Virginia Media from participating in the new rebidding process and sought punitive damages from Payne, Clements, Luck and others “for their outrageous and scandalous behavior.”

The lawsuit is still pending in court.

When asked about the deal announced Thursday, Raese attorney Bob Gwynne said, “This is an issue we will address in litigation.”

So we’ve got that going for us, which is probably not nice. We should expect some prompt reply and I’d have to think Team Raese anticipated this rapid conclusion. Whether related or not, we saw Thursday that Team Raese remains at least determined. It filed a motion to have a judge disqualified from the case. I’ll spare you the details, but just know that a dispute at a Fourth of July party in 1987 is at the center of this latest menace.

I happen to think we’re near the end and my hunch is that WVU is beyond confident the lawsuit has no merit and will be tossed — which could explain the move to disqualify the judge. Team Raese could re-file its suit, since more than a few things have now changed, and refresh some rhetoric and introduce some more. Who knows? And maybe more importantly, who cares?

What matters is that WVU made a big league move Thursday to inflate its income. We’re talking more money on average from Tier 3 rights than what the Mountaineers were receiving from the Big East. It’s huge for hiring and retaining coaches, for acquiring, maintaining and developing bells and whistles, for acting like you belong.

But you already knew that.

What people thought they knew yesterday was problematic. WVU did not lose $30 million by signing a contract worth more than $80 million guaranteed. I touched on this in the blog yesterday, but the prior $110 million figure included guaranteed money and incentives based on a revenue sharing plan. The $80 million was just the guaranteed money — and as I understand it, it’s more like $85 or so million. It merely mentions the revenue sharing, which can be worth some money.

In short, revenue sharing works like this: IMG College guaranteed WVU a fee every year. That fee will escalate over the 12 years to adjust for the effect time has on the market. But IMG is going to make a lot of cash off WVU. It will take from that stash to pay WVU and to pay for its own expenses. There will still be leftover money and that will be split among WVU and IMG.

We’ll learn the specifics if/when WVU releases the contract.

Over 10 or 11 years, that split revenue can add up to make up a bunch of the difference, though not all of it.

WVU has a plan for the rest, and this is where things get interesting and highly ironic. Check this paragraph from the press release.

WVU retains some existing sponsorships with corporate entities such as athletic apparel and footwear, health care, financial services and pouring rights.

We’re talking about Nike, Coca-Cola, Gatorade, United Bank, WVU Hospitals, so on and so forth, I think, based on who WVU has done business with through the years. WVU will continue to negotiate those contracts and bank the income. Combine those contracts, be they with the companies in place of the ones who come into play in the future, across the 12 years and then add that to the revenue sharing and this is probably going to be very close to the old figure of $110 or so million.

The best part?

WVU will negotiate and benefit from those contracts, conveniently enough because it was made to go through the RFP process twice and had a change of heart the second time around thanks to Raese’s intervention.

That’s fantastic.

Now, did WVU lose some money? Absolutely. Probably seven figures, I bet, but not eight. It’s not fair to ask or expect IMG to pay an ordinary guarantee this first year because IMG is starting now what it should have started in January. That delay cost both WVU and IMG earning potential this first year. WVU will probably rely heavily on revenue sharing this first year. That’s a dent and while Team Raese played a part, let’s not forget WVU had something to do with it, too.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, know when it’s time to go.

Mack said:

Now, let’s negotiate those Tier 4 rights.

Oh, indeed.

Josh24601 said:

Good night, sweet Mike Parsons Project.

We should all be interested in what the future holds for him. The Mountaineer Sports Network was his baby and it was a wonderful thing for a long time. The only thing that was “wrong” with it was that it couldn’t promise the money IMG College promises. I’m sure not everyone will agree with this, but I don’t care: Parsons is owed a lot for what he’s done through the years.

Rob W said:

51 days until kickoff by my count. Mike, what changes/announcements are we likely to see in that timeframe? I would think that there are things that will have to be expedited while there might be others that blend in as the season progresses. Any idea what some of the changes might be and when we might hear of them? On a side note, and I know that this is a hot button for a number of folks, it would be a shame if Tony is not retained as the radio voice. I listen to a number of announcers around the country and he is truly one of the talented ones…..

The most notable changes are ones we already know: More signage, more commercialism and more reminders this is an IMG product. Soon we’ll know about new West Virginia Media programming and products. IMG will unveil its platform and plans, too. There won’t be dramatic changes there. Maybe a new show or concept, but probably mostly new names for new shows that will be in familiar places. This should excite you more than it worries you. Personnel will change, for sure, because IMG is going to be empowered to do its own thing with its own people — but WVU has a say in that. The biggest issue is what role West Virginia Radio will have. That group has the best stations and in the end, this is more business than it is personal. It might be good for WVU to do business with West Virginia Radio. That’s up to IMG. If it happens, it’s possible you’ll see West Virginia Radio personalities again. And if not, West Virginia Radio can do it’s own pregame and postgame shows on its stations with its personalities. As for Caridi, it’s as much his call as it is IMG’s. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t continue in his role, but I’d be interested to see the arrangement. 

Rugger said:

I would hate to lose Tony but Mike would be a better color guy than Dwight, imo.

Could you imagine that booth?

Drew said:

Dwight has the thickest gold and blue colored glasses of anyone I’ve heard. Not necessarily a bad thing and better than the opposite, but I would prefer Jed Drenning get promoted to the booth from the sideline job. He knows modern college football better than Dwight (who is much more of an old school coach) and is, in my opinion, more articulate.

Honestly, and perhaps obviously, I’ve never heard Jed during a game. I do know that he knows football and I like his magazine. Remember this? Jed was a part of that pow wow and, wow, did he know what was going on and why it was happening. What I have heard is that he’s really good at the sideline thing, which requires a certain set of skills. Maybe keep him there?

Rugger said:

Is there an ex-player we could tap for a color guy? Wolfley would be fun.

I like Allan….he’s in a tough spot but seems like a smart feller so he’ll land on his feet.

Tony Becht comes to mind. And Allan isn’t in trouble. He covers the team for a website that will still have access. And think of it this way: If WVRC is shut out and WVRC does its own programming, he might have an enhanced role there.

Mack said:

Now that WVU is in the Big 12 and has a Tier 3 deal I ask . . .

Does the revenue generated by WVU increasingly have nothing to do with how the team performs?

It could be seen that say, sure. But the better the team does, the deeper it advances in NCAA Tournaments and the more bowl games it wins, the more revenue is available through different channels. And nothing is more marketable than success.

SheikYbuti said:

The most interesting part of the Big 12 media days, as far as I can discern, is whether Spain, when he sees a tough question coming from the press, will line up to answer with his left foot slightly off-perpendicular.

I’ve been studying his past interviews, and I’ve been talking to other reporters. There is a tell. That’s all I’ll say.

ccteam said:

Would that mean he intends to run or pass on a tough question?

ccteam said:

Or perhaps he will pass on important information!

That’s unsportsmanlike.

AnxiousEER97 said:

I’m already anticipating some of Holgorsen’s quips: “Nah, we’re going suck this season [cough, snort, cough]. I’m not sure why they invited us to this event this Summer.”

[Use Mora voice]: “Quarterback? Quarterback? We have 5 worthy RBs and you want to talk Quarterback?”

Oh, man. There are few things that rankle him more than questions about the obvious that he cannot possibly answer. He’s going to he in top form, I bet. He was getting salty at the end of spring football, but the audience he’ll encounter in 11 days doesn’t know that. Can’t wait.

I love you, Doug! said:

Well, aside from Cook, who else does Holgo have? He can’t take a JUCO and ask them to speak for the team. He can’t pick any of his QBs, lest that sends the signal. He can’t take I-Mac, because I-Mac. He can’t take Squirt, because he won’t even let him talk after the spring game.

On the other hand, I’m disappointed at Holgo’s thoroughly inside-the-box thinking leading to this glorious missed opportunity. Last year, WVU dominated the Big 12 media days conversation with their star power and swagger. This year, they could dominate as well, but in an edgy, truly bizarre fashion.

Imagine:

– Holgorsen takes ALL THREE quarterbacks and tells them part of their position evaluation will depend on the amount and quality of their press clippings.

– He takes the JUCO who knows the least about W.Va.

– He takes Squirt but doesn’t allow him to talk to the media.

Wall-to-wall WVU media coverage!

Takes all the cornerbacks, but every question goes over their heads. Takes Eger and Underwood and has them field questions and relay them to the quarterback. Takes Cody Clay and he answers questions for the receivers, fullbacks and tight ends. Takes Andrew Buie, but he runs into the door on the way in and knocks himself out cold. This could be so much fun.

SheiYbuti said:

We have had this discussion already, albeit briefly, but I’ll start it up again: if this guy is our best offensive player, isn’t it more likely that he’ll be used at receiver, as Tavon was last year, instead of running back? He can still line up in the backfield on occasion, and he can run the touch pass from the slot position, no? Don’t we have a lot more depth at running back already, and not so much at receiver? Do we really think we want to see Buie, Dreamius, and/or Garrison collecting pine splinters the entire season, as opposed to our 4th or 5th best wideout (whoever that may be?).

OK, so “this guy” would be Charles Sims and he’s safely among the best offensive players. I won’t say he’s the best (yet) because this is new to him and he can’t possibly be as knowledgeable as he has to be to make that claim — though that may come soon. I suppose the answers to your questions are subjective, though. Me? I’m not sold on those three running backs. And while I haven’t seen Sims in this offense, I’ve seen him play and I’m more sold on him than the others. I also think the receivers you’ll see in camp for the first time will leap the receivers who tried to drop an anchor in the spring. Along those lines, I think there’s a greater need for Sims in the backfield than in the slot. Also, Sims is much bigger than Tavon. He’s as big as McCartney and Myers. They’re outside guys. Sims isn’t an outside receiver, but he’s not as squat, quick or shifty to thrive so easily in the slot. It would seem more probable that he’s used in a fashion similar to the way Tavon was used late last season — primarily a running back who plays a little receiver. Now, if Mario Alford doesn’t show up in three weeks …

Spatial Angel said:

I saw Dreamius Smith in the spring game. I saw the Sims video.

In my opinion (which may be ignorant with a capital I) Dreamius is the better back.

Depends on what you ask them to do. Barrel through the line for three yards on third-and-2? Smith. Catch a pass in the flat and zip for three yards on third-and-2? Sims. It’s a nice problem to have.

Bobby Heenan said:

One thing about the slot position is that it takes a lot of football IQ/experience. A lot of their “routes” are just finding little holes and patches in the zone. Tavon made it look easy, and we used him on a lot of screens or other unique ways to get him the ball out of the slot…but prior guys like Amendola or Welker used toughness and extremely high football IQ and “feel” in the slot to always get open.

I just don’t see a guy like Buie or Sims, having played little to no slot before, just changing positions and getting plugged in there and having a lot of success. It’s easy to see them having success catching bubble screens, but there’s a lot of sitting down in the zone or crossing that goes on that has to be learned.

Good point, but Sims has played the slot. All of those receptions weren’t swing passes. And he’s been around long enough to know what to do. The innate, second nature stuff? That has to be developed and I couldn’t say where he is with regard to that.

SheikYbuti said:

Someone else made the point earlier that Buie might be better suited to take over the Tavon role (assuming that such a thing continues to exist), which might alleviate some of the talent glut at RB. The interesting part to me is that, assuming that Sims is going to be strictly a RB, both he and Trickett transferred in to play positions that may not exactly be positions of need, at least not in the sense that the receiver positions seem to be. And both appear to be confident that they’ll be playing quite a bit.

Remember all those times Tavon went across the middle and got smoked by a safety or a linebacker? Just a clean and devastating hit that sent him hard to the turf? Me neither. He was so good at avoiding that. I frankly worry about Buie’s longevity there. His successes as a receiver has been screens behind a wall of teammates and wheel routes running up the sideline and away from the pursuit. I’ve always thought Garrison had better feet and better moves for that particular role. As for Trickett and Sims, don’t we have to assume they have more information about prospective PT than we do? (Aside: Boy did I miss talking about football.)

50yrfan said:

Mike C., is Bouie or Garrison able to carry the load running for this team or is Sims needed? Would like to hear the thoughts of those out there about the running back situation.

I really don’t think anyone is going to be asked to carry the load. Buie and Garrison have both had games with a heavy workload and they slumped after both. Even Smith, who is regarded as the power back in the group, had 120 and 100 carries the last two years. Sims will split his touches between carries and receptions. Realistically, there’s only room or three in a game, and something like a 75-22-3 split. And we haven’t even mentioned Wendell Smallwood. You might see a position change for Buie or Garrison, but they’ll be made to keep an edge as a running back in practice in case of injuries.

I love you, Doug! said: 

Could the 2013 WVU football team be the most ever with JUCOs and transfers starting? Starting JUCOs/transfers could include:

– QB
– RB
– WR
– OL
– DL
– LB

Am I missing any?

This is starting to look like a Bob Huggins team.

Forgot one: Punter Nick O’Toole. The DE/OLB projections are shaky because there’s no sign of Hyman or Golson.

smeer said:

more refs = more flags especially watching the holding that goes on every play along the line.

targeting – a fore arm to the shoulder pads or similarly lowering the shoulder to deliver the boom? I don’t like this subjective stuff at all. Joseph blew up a lot of people last year – who many would be calls under this new rule? the helmet is attached to the shoulders but make sure you shoulder tackle by getting your head out of the way

Put it this way: The last thing WVU’s defense — especially the back end — needs to be doing is playing cautiously.

Kevin said:

You would assume an additional ref would make for a game that was more accurately officiated, but where do the additional refs come from? If conferences have enough qualified refs so that there are several that aren’t working each week that’s one thing, but if the refs are going to be “promoted” from a lower level of football… Well, I think we saw that during the NFL ref work stoppage.

In any case, I agree with Smeer that it will result in more flags.

They are legislating defense out of the game. In 20 years, football will prolly look more like a 7 on 7 drill than the game we all grew up with.

Valid. The hope is that they’ve picked the proper pupils and coached them up so that they’re ready for the task. That should be the case, at least. Let’s not forget that another official has to get to his spot and get set before the snap, too. It’ll slow the game a little.

overtheSEC said:

Mike, I believe the penalty is reviewable, correct? If so, I’m okay with it. If not, you can’t eject a kid for something that happens in a split seconds and can only be diagnosed with subtleties such as “A crouch followed by an upward and forward thrust to attack with contact at the head or neck area”

The penalty isn’t reviewable, but whether a player should be ejected for the penalty is. And that has a caveat. If a player is ejected, it would take irrefutable evidence that he shouldn’t be ejected to overturn it. In everything I’ve read, I don’t see a way a player can be ejected via video, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. If a hit is worthy of an ejection, does it matter when an official makes that decision?

SheilYbuti said:

I think I must be having reading comprehension issues this summer.

“For effect, they combat one another with the ones playing defensive line using pads to add emphasis to the drill.”

OK, so they use pads. And then the next sentence:

“That matters because these workouts have to happen without pads.”

Say what?

My fault. First is shoulder pads, second is blocking pads. Made sense in my head, which is oftentimes the problem.

ccteam said:

Surely it is not appropriate to wear pads during summer “voluntary” practices when it is against NCAA regs to wear pads the first few days of mandatory practices in August. Ole Stew was drug through it for that violation a few years back.

You are correct. I kicked it.

Mack said:

In all of the places I have lived, I have never been a frequent 7-Eleven customer. I would bet that I could count on one hand the number of times I have ever been to one. And, to be quite honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out that I’ve never been to one.

DiscriMacknation.

Parks said:

I’ll take a free slurpee, but the taquitos are where it’s really at! Only after 2AM though..

I’ll take your word on that. I’ve been bitten by food poisoning just once, I think, in all my life of bad late-night eating decisions. I opted for a cheeseburger hot dog off the rolling grill at, like, 1 a.m. and regretted it for about 18 hours. 

I love you, Doug! said:

Over here in Seoul, the 7-Elevens don’t have Slurpees or any fountain offereings. In fact, in no convenience store in Korea have I seen a fountain beverage machine of any kind. I’d say that’s un-American, but that’s redundant.

That’s ridiculous. Do they have coffee? I maintain 7-Eleven coffee is way underrated.

glibglub said:

The thing about woebegone summers is that all the offensive linemen are strong, all the skill players are good-looking, and everyone in the secondary is above average.

Enjoy the weekend!